Microsoft held a special Surface branded event on the 2nd of October in New York City. Microsoft unveiled two dual-screen folding devices – the Surface Duo and Surface Neo tablets. As well as the Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro X, Surface Pro 7, and Surface Earbuds.
The Surface Duo and Surface Neo both feature dual screens, have a thinness of 5.6mm and are incredibly lightweight. The Surface Neo will run a new version of Windows called 10X, and will be released in 2020, but is available for preorder now. Microsoft has partnered with Google on the Surface Duo to use their Android operating system.
The Surface Neo screens have 360-degree rotation and use 16 tiny coaxial cables to allow synergy between the two screens. The keyboard magnetically attaches and smoothly integrates into the screen to seem like a regular laptop, it also includes a “wonderbar” above the attached keyboard which acts as a mouse and for extra keys and emojis – or this can be used as an extra screen.
The Surface Pro 7, the latest version of their popular 2-in-1 device, was announced with small improvements including updates to power and performance. The main update to the Surface Pro 7 is the addition of a USB-C connectivity. The Surface Pro 7 doesn’t include radical new features but comes with a higher price. It can be preordered now from £799.
The Surface Pro X is an ultra thin 2-in-1 device with a depth of 5.3mm – the thinnest Surface device created so far. Microsoft has kept the 12inch physical size but increased the screen’s real estate so it is now 13inch diagonal. It’s not running a typical PC processor, instead it uses Microsoft’s custom SQ1 chipset which is designed to run Windows 10 while maintaining a constant internet connection – this should deliver up to 3x more performance per watt than the Surface Pro 6. The Surface Pen is neatly stored within the Surface Pro X, which is constantly charging, enabling you to write down notes instantly. This will be available early November and can be preordered now, although UK pricing is currently unclear.
The Surface Laptop 3 comes in two sizes, 3.5inch and 5-inch. It also has a trackpad which is 20 percent larger than its predecessor, meaning users are able to get more done quicker with a single swipe. It has a quad-core 10th-generation Intel Core processor, which is claimed to be 3x more powerful than the current Apple Macbook Air. Both the Surface Laptop 3 models are available for pre-order, and will be released for sale on October 22. The 13-inch model starts at $999 (about £810), similar to previous models, whilst the 15-inch model starts at $1,199 (about £970).
Microsoft brings another competitor to Apple in the Surface Earbuds. These wireless earphones have a battery life of 24 hours, and have two microphones built-in with new filters to better pick up voice rather than background noise. Touch sensors have been made with the view that the user does not need to directly use their phone – e.g.the sensors allow navigation of Spotify: play, pause, skip and volume controls are all built-in.
It was an interesting event with very attractive devices being brought to market, such as the new dual-screen smartphone and tablet. All of the Surface range also have impressive “fast charging” which charges 80% of the device in less than an hour. However, there wasn’t any discussion on the next version of Windows 10, codenamed 19H2. This software started its gradual rollout to users the day after Microsoft’s event last year. Microsoft has released preview builds of 19H2 to insiders, but, in delivering its Operating System more as service than a product, the number of improvements and alterations in each release has dwindled, and has left users wondering when the next significant Windows update will be. Nevertheless, Microsoft has a lot to celebrate this year and have certainly stepped up the competition with Apple with the likes of the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Earbuds.